Made From Your Garden

Strawberry Liqueur — A Taste of Summer

by Debbie Teashon

Strawberries fresh from your garden, coupled with organic sugar cane and vodka, makes this liqueur divine. With a taste that says fresh-from-the-garden, the liqueur makes a wonderful gift, especially if you bottle it into a delightful, clear glass container.

Organic cane sugar isn't bleached as regular sugar is, and when dissolved in water it has a light amber hue. Mixed with the infusion the hue is a translucent warm red. Bleached sugar will give the liqueur a pinkish hue.

Ingredients:

Simple syrup:

1-cup hot water
1-cup organic cane sugar

Bring water to a boil, and then stir in sugar until dissolved. Cool to room temperature before adding to the infused spirit.

Approximately 2 pints of fresh organic strawberries — washed, stemmed, and quartered

1 fifth of 80-100 proof organic vodka (750 ml)

1-cup simple syrup (made separately, see sidebar). Leave this ingredient out if you prefer the batch to be an infused spirit.

Scroll down through the images below for the rest of the instructions.

Washed, stemmed, and quartered strawberries

Wash, stem, and quarter the strawberries and place in a large sterile jar with a tight fitting lid.

Strawberries are ready to be infused.

Pour the liquid from a bottle of your favorite organic vodka.

Seal with a lid and place it in a cool, dark cabinet for up to 7 days. Swirl the ingredients every day and after the 5th day open the lid and do a smell test. When it smells strongly of strawberries, it is ready.

The strawberries lose their color — the liqueur swipes it!

Strain the berries, but do not push on the solids so that your liqueur remains clear.

Mix your simple syrup in and bottle it up in a beautiful, clear, sterile bottle. The clear glass shows off the liqueur's translucent red hue.

You will see some sediment settle to the bottom of the bottle after a few days. At that point slowly pour the contents out, leaving the sediments in the bottle with a little bit of the remaining liqueur. Empty the sediments from the bottle, and pour the sediment-free liqueur back into the container. You can also strain it through cheesecloth.

Keep your liqueur in a dark cool cabinet for up to a year.

Suggested uses

Garnish your drinks with a slice of strawberry, or a sprig of mint.

Drink it straight up or on the rocks. You can also pour the liqueur over ice, filling the glass halfway. Then gently pour sparkling water to top it off. The drink will have an attractive two-tone affect, adding more strawberry taste as you sip your way down to the liqueur.

Add a tablespoon to top off hot chocolate, but don't mix it in.

A tablespoon of the liqueur drizzled over vanilla ice cream is a wonderful taste treat.

What do you do with the leftover strawberries? Taste one! It is now infused with vodka. You can use them in sweet bread recipes. Cooking evaporates the alcohol but leaves behind its subtle taste.

Vodka infused strawberries used in an adult dessert makes interesting strawberry shortcake or a killer smoothie!

Remember! Always drink responsibly!

Back to Gardening for the Homebrewer.

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By co-authors Debbie Teashon (Rainy Side Gardeners) and Wendy Tweton

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